The Liberal Democrats are calling on Home Office ministers to halt the planned deportation of a group of Zimbabwean asylum seekers because of the increasing violence against opposition members in the country.

Home Office minister Lord Rooker has so far refused to intervene. In a letter to Lord Avebury, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman, Rooker said: "I do not accept that the situation is so serious that it requires suspension of removals."

However, a spokeswoman for the Home Office added that the situation is under constant review.